Agenda item

(Report Ref: BHP39)

RECOMMENDATIONS:

1.            That the Policy Committee members note general comments in the body of the report, but to provide particular comment on the proposed and emerging priorities for the Housing Strategy 2023-2028;

·         Access to decent homes for all, across all of the tenures

·         Responding to the housing need of an ageing and growing population

·         Access to a mixed tenure affordable family accommodation

·         Access to affordable energy efficient accommodation

·         Responding to the Social Housing White paper

·         Commitment to supporting persons seeking sanctuary in the district of Winchester

Councillor Ferguson, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Community and Housing introduced the report, ref BHP39 (available here) which set out proposals for preparation of the Emerging Housing Strategy, Councillor Ferguson advised that the proposals were being brought to the committee at an early stage so that the committee’s comments could be fully considered as the strategy was prepared.

The committee was recommended to:

Provide comment on the proposed and emerging priorities for the Housing Strategy 2023-2028.

1.    Access to decent homes for all, across all of the tenures.

2.    Responding to the housing need of an ageing and growing population.

3.    Access to mixed tenure affordable family accommodation.

4.    Access to affordable energy-efficient accommodation.

5.    Responding to the Social Housing White paper.

6.    Commitment to supporting persons seeking sanctuary in the Winchester District.

The committee proceeded to ask questions and debate the report. In summary, the following matters were raised.

1. That the strategy should address the problem that rural communities were heavily reliant on private sector rented properties for their affordable homes and that these were increasingly being sold.
2. That the “Rent Setting Policy” be added to the list of policy documents on page 23 of the report, under the heading of “Scoping the Strategy”.
3. The references in the report to "Winchester" be reviewed to clarify whether this relates to the Town or the district.
4. That it was important to include a reference to the council's work in accommodating Syrian refugees as well as Ukrainian and Afghanistan refugees.
5. That reference is made to City Lets so that the role and effectiveness of the scheme could be understood.
6. Whether there were any learnings from the development at Queens Gate that would support the homes for life priority.
7. Regarding sheltered, extra care provision, that data regarding the different provision and the location of that provision was important.
8. Regarding the decent homes' standard, it was important to aspire to an "Excellent" standard throughout the district.
9. That it was important to understand the aspirations of all the local higher education institutions, i.e., the Colleges and Universities and how they may impact the local housing market.
10. Regarding consultation on Emerging Strategy itself, that the role of the Cabinet Committee: Housing needs to be clarified.
11. Whether the strategy could address the loss of family accommodation to Houses of Multiple Occupation.
12. Regarding priority 4, that access to affordable and energy-efficient homes should be given a very high priority.
13. Regarding consultation on the strategy, how do we ensure we gather views and comments from the wider resident base in the district?
14. How did having 40% of the district within the South Downs National Park affect this strategy and would the consultation include the National Park Authority?
15. Some rural communities want additional housing, but it can be much harder to deliver, how do we overcome this in these situations?
16. How were we determining the ranking of the priorities of the strategy?
17. Housing tenures do not appear to be referenced in the strategy, should they be?
18. Were the activities within the draft timetable on page 24 on track?
19. Was there an intention that the strategy returns to this committee as a draft version before it was agreed?
20. Should the strategy reflect the capacity of care homes within the district?

These points were responded to by Councillor Paula Ferguson, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Community and Housing, Gillian Knight, Corporate Head of Housing and Karen Thorburn, Service Lead - Strategic Housing accordingly and were noted by Councillor Ferguson and officers.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the cabinet member and officers note the comments of the committee.